The thieves negotiate their return with the prosecutor’s office as they face prosecution
German police on Saturday in Berlin recovered much of the priceless treasure stolen three years ago from the Green Vault of the Residenzschloss, Dresden’s royal palace. The Dresden Prosecutor’s Office and the Saxony Criminal Investigation Office announced in a statement that an operation carried out this morning has made it possible to recover a total of 31 pieces, including several complete ones, from the so-called Wettin House treasure, the jewels of the Saxon kings with an impressive collection of large diamonds. In November 2019, a group of thieves managed to break into the palace at night, gain access to the treasure room, the well-known Green Vault, and take a large part of the most precious jewels.
The Dresden public prosecutor’s office stressed that not all the treasures have been recovered, although most of them have been recovered and that this is possible after contacts with the alleged robbers’ lawyers, as they are currently being prosecuted for that robbery. The house searches that made it possible to recover the jewels, of which no details have been given, took place “after incisive talks between the defense and the prosecution, including the court, for a possible procedural agreement with the return of the part of the booty. still available », they explained from the prosecutor’s office. Six men have been tried by a court in the Saxon capital since the beginning of this year as a criminal gang for a crime. He added that the recovered jewels have already been transferred to Dresden with a large police escort, where they will be thoroughly analyzed to check their condition and verify which pieces are missing to be recovered.
In the robbery three years ago, the thieves took a total of 21 jewels, decorated with a total of 4,300 diamonds, which were valued at more than 110 million euros for their material value alone. The thieves also caused property damage of more than a million euros. Among the most notable pieces that have disappeared at the time are Queen Amalia Augusta’s diamond necklace, a dagger with a diamond hilt, a large diamond star with the Polish Order of the White Eagle and several costume pieces filled with diamonds as buckles for the shoes or buttons for a coat. The jewels in the Wettin Treasure are so unique that it is almost impossible to sell them on the black market, even by taking them apart and offering the loose stones. Any expert would recognize its origin.
six defendants
The six suspects in the robbery are aged between 23 and 28 and all belong to a Berlin family clan of Lebanese descent to which numerous crimes are attributed. Several of the young people were previously involved in the robbery of the Bode Museum in Berlin on a gold coin worth 3.75 million euros. In March 2017, several thieves entered the museum through a window and, with the complicity of a security guard, managed to steal a 100-kilogram solid gold coin, a Big Maple Leaf issued by Canada bearing the effigy of Elizabeth II and of which only six copies were beaten. The example stolen in Berlin has never been recovered and, given its purity, it is believed to have been melted down and the gold sold by weight. Two Lebanese clan members, aged 18 and 20, were sentenced to four and a half years in prison for that robbery after being prosecuted under juvenile justice. The guard was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for complicity
Local Berlin media note that the reveal of where some of the loot from the Dresden robbery was found so far comes as the trial of the alleged perpetrators draws to a close. The tabloid Bild confirms that the defendants want to reduce their sentences at all costs. Since they are historical jewels, the authorities are apparently willing to make concessions to get them back. Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer celebrated the return of a large portion of the stolen jewels. “The valuable works of art in the Green Vault are part of our state’s cultural heritage. Only the determined and professional work of the police and the public prosecutor’s office has made it possible to identify and arrest the perpetrators and to clarify the facts,” said the Saxon Prime Minister.
Source: La Verdad
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
